15 replies to this topic

[hobby]

This is for "links" page.Is there an EASY-ish way to do this automatically?
Or is there a tool to help me generate the html quickly?
Either for me to be able to add quickly to a site or have some one else submit info...



In this case I am working with a VERY simple site done in straight HTML.
Any advice would be great - thanks!
Hobby...

[Renagade Master]

Do you mean you want a tool to automatically generate a 'Site Map'?

Or do you want a form that allows users to enter their URL on your page?

Or something else I missed?

[Jill]

There are tons of scripts that allow people to automatically add their URL to your site's list of sites. However, I really wouldn't recommend going that route as you'll end up basically having a free for all (FFA) page(s) which will probably end up with a lot of crap.

If you do get something like that make it that you have to approve all the listings before they go live so you can weed the out as necessary.

[DanThies]

If you really want to create a directory, CPLinks is a good free script for that.

[hobby]

Hi- yes add sites autmatically. In this case it is a small site and the site owner is prepared to get rid of all the garbage- or approve each one. It is a client with not much $$$ but heart in the right place and I want to help him as much as I can.

I also volunteer on some non-profit sites and it would be useful tool for those (which btw if you are just starting out it is a great way to learn/practice.. not to mention the goodwill)
hobby

[Sharon & Roy]

This is for "links" page. Is there an EASY-ish way to do this automatically? Or is there a tool to help me generate the html quickly? Either for me to be able to add quickly to a site or have some one else submit info...

Hi Hobby,

We recommend that you use blog software in general and WordPress in particular to create your directory of resources.

Why use blog software for your "links pages" you may ask?

Well, the reasons are too numerous to go into all of them here but we'll point out the main reasons for you.

Most people will agree that the majority of links pages created are just that, pages of links. Most provide little or no value for visitors and most of the time they don't offer any quality resources. Then for those links pages that do offer their visitors an abundance of quality resources, you'd hardly know it because the site owner or Webmaster has provided only a link with very little or no description. Also, many links pages are treated as a necessary evil which means they aren't optimized well enough to be found via the search engines so they go unnoticed.

Using blog software will at least give the site owner/Webmaster an incentive to write compelling descriptions about each link exchange, resource, article, or anything else worthy of mention for their visitors.

Let's face it, the majority of "links pages" or "directory of resources" sections aren't worth even 10 minutes of your time, much less being able to give you any insight and information at all on the type of person that the owner of the business is like.

Getting to know the owner of the business is paramount to the bottom line of your small or micro business and especially so for the solopreneur if you ask us.

Therefore, the more information a business owner is willing to share with their prospects, the more their prospects will be willing to do business with them.

Below is one of the fundamental laws of business and you would do well to memorize it and apply it.

• With all things being equal, people will do business with people they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.

• With all things NOT being equal, people will STILL do business with people they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.

Therefore, you MUST become the person that people will KNOW, LIKE and TRUST when it comes to buying from you and/or referring you to their family, friends and colleagues.

And if you ask us, one of the best ways is to share yourself, your knowledge and your circle of influence, (e.g., your network) with others through your writings about anything related to your business.

And the fastest way to accomplish this is through a blog and that is why we advocate using blog software for your "reciprocal links pages" and/or your "directory of resources" pages.

Think about it, what a wonderful resource you'll be able to build for your prospects.

Not only will you be able to QUICKLY and EASILY exchange links, but you can and should also quickly and easily exchange articles, various product and/or service recommendations and reviews of every kind just to mention a few of the things that your prospects (as well as fellow business owners) will find useful and important in order to learn more about you and your business.

Of course you should use blog software that will allow you to create various categories so that your prospects can quickly find what they are looking for.

Below are some of our suggested categories to implement for your links pages.

• My Resources
• My Featured Resources
• My Personal Recommendations
• My Reviews - Tools I Use
• My Guest Reviews - Tools To Use
• My Articles
• My Guest Articles
• Testimonials
• Audio Interviews
• Industry News
• What's New



::: Food For Thought :::

If prospects were only allowed to choose doing business with a company based solely by their "links pages" or "directory of resources" would your business be proud of this section of your Website or would you be more ashamed?

In other words, have you placed a link to your "links pages" or "directory of resources" on your homepage? Is it prominently displayed? Do all of your pages include this link as part of your main navigation menu? How many links do you currently have that point to your "links pages" or "directory of resources" pages from other Websites? Are you actively pursuing links for this section of your Website? If you aren't, ask yourself why you aren't? Could it be because of the way your pages look? Could it be because of the way your pages lack any real significant and quality information? Could it be because you are ashamed of the Websites you're exchanging links with?

After all, you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep, right?

Well, in like manner you will also be able to tell a lot about a particular business by the kind of company, (e.g., "link partners") they keep, by simply looking over their reciprocal links pages, right? You are who you link to and whether your prospects are judging you and your company by your link partners today or not, we're here to say that they certainly may (or should) tomorrow.

Be proud of your "reciprocal links pages" and/or your "directory of resources" pages.

Your Friends,

Sharon and Roy Montero

[DaveBeck]

hello Sharon and Roy,

that is a great suggestion and one that I will adopt and recommend

moving away from a links or directory page is something that I have been pondering a lot lately, I totally agree with Jill they usually end up full of

Dave

[Sharon & Roy]

Hello Sharon and Roy,

That is a great suggestion and one that I will adopt and recommend 

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your kind words, we certainly appreciate them!

We invite you to bookmark this thread and to post back here again once you have your "directory of resources" up and running because we'll definitely be looking for examples to show our clients, students, subscribers and visitors.

In fact, we'd like to invite anyone who creates such a "directory of resources" to PM (Private Message) us with your URL because we'd like to ask you a few questions and possibly mention your site in an upcoming eBook that we're writing entitled ...

So What Else Can I Do With A Blog If I Don't Know What To Write About?

Your Friends,

Sharon and Roy Montero

[Jill]

Some great ideas, S&R, thanks!

[DaveBeck]

We invite you to bookmark this thread and to post back here again once you have your "directory of resources" up and running because we'll definitely be looking for examples to show our clients, students, subscribers and visitors.

Will do!

good luck with the book!

[Sharon & Roy]

Some great ideas, S&R, thanks!

You're welcome Jill and thank you for your kind words, we appreciate them!

good luck with the book!

Thanks Dave!

[linux_lover]

I personally have a simple MySQL database which I store my links in with fields for linkid, url, image, description, anchortext.

By storing your links in a database you can query the database and generate your links page with ease, and code a little form to allow you to insert a record to the database (or just use phpmyadmin or similar).

Its a similar principal to the Blog method mentioned, but more customisable. Depends on your level of coding knowledge really - I can send you some code if you PM me though.

[mcanerin]

Be proud of your "reciprocal links pages" and/or your "directory of resources" pages.

I couldn't agree more.

I try to make sure that my links pages are some of the highest ranking, best designed pages on my site. Not only is it good for visitors and the sites professionalism in general, but it's really good for getting high quality linking partners

Ian

[Sharon & Roy]

::: Why Be A Full-Time Link Hunter When You Can Become A Full-Time Link Huntee? :::

I couldn't agree more. 

I try to make sure that my links pages are some of the highest ranking, best designed pages on my site. Not only is it good for visitors and the sites professionalism in general, but it's really good for getting high quality linking partners

Hi Ian,

Absolutely! One of the primary goals of any site's links pages is to rank well in the search engines because not only will you attract potential customers and/or clients for your business but you will also attract a steady flow of potential link partners and as you mention, some quality link partners at that.

In fact, we teach that if you will simply take the time and the effort it takes to optimize this section of your Website you will eventually be able to wear the hat of a full-time "link huntee" instead of a full-time "link hunter" because you will dominate many or all of the top SERP (Search Engine Results Pages) with your industry or niche's top queries such as these for example. (Simply replace "keyword phrase" with your various keyword phrases.)

"add URL" "keyword phrase"
http://www.google.co.....yword phrase"

"add link" "keyword phrase"
http://www.google.co.....yword phrase"

"add site" "keyword phrase"
http://www.google.co.....yword phrase"

etc., etc., etc.

As an encouragement to those of you who have never really thought about optimizing your "reciprocal links pages" and/or your "directory of resources" pages then take some time to think about it now.

Think about how easy it will be to optimize those pages for the various queries that site owners, Webmasters and SEOs are using right now to locate pages just like yours to either link to as a resource for their visitors (AKA one-way link) such as "A list of the best links pages to exchange links with if your business is related to the blah-blah-blah industry" and/or to request a link exchange with you.

In any case you will have a tremendous edge over your competitors (even over those who have been building links for years) who aren't (yet) taking this road less traveled when it comes to developing productive link building techniques to drive targeted visitors to their pages.

To make things really easy for yourself and your potential link partners is to design a page that explains step-by-step just what you expect from them in the way of where and how you wish your link to appear on their site and then once in place for them to simply fill out a Web form that will provide you with all the information you will need to quickly and easily add it to a new blog post, which if you design your form correctly, will be as simple as just copying and pasting the information into your blog because you have already formatted all the information in the exact way that you want it to appear on your blog.

Now, we ask you, is that encouragement enough for you to want to design such an area on your Website?

If not, then what about this for some motivation ... Some, most or all of your competition will certainly want to take this road less traveled just as soon as they find out about it.

And don't think that just because your competition won't be reading this thread that they won't eventually hear about this concept because we are pretty sure that they will.

This is just some food for thought.

Happy SEOing And We'll See You At The Top!

Your Friends,

Sharon and Roy Montero

[Scottie]

Good info, Sharon & Roy! Good to see you posting again.